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Fenceline protrusions are most likely some form of physical security barrier or detection system.  Possibilities include monowire mounts, infrared or ultraviolet beam systems, laser or microwave detection grid, or some form of stand alone dedicated sensor network.

"Ow, ow, ow," Scratch mockingly cries out. "Quit twisting my arm." He flashes yet another grin while buckling himself into his seat.

"All right, groovy. If I'm not back in fifteen minutes, take off without me. Like I said before, I'll check back at that doss of yours in a couple of hours if we break up. If something goes horribly wrong and you think someone's going to try and using my body to track you down or something, just dump me behind the dumpster at 1414 Morning Glory Avenune at Casino Corner. I got someone there who'll make sure nothing happens if drek comes to that. Frosty? Frosty. Back in two shakes of a lamb's tail." A beat. "Did I really just say that?"

Without waiting for a response, you can almost see Death wash over the satyr. A heartbeat later finds his carcass making the comatose rigger's body look like it's out busting a move on Dante's Inferno dance floor with three buxon chicas.

As Scratch's astral form lifts up out of the van and starts to move in to take a look at the facility, he quickly discovers that isn't going to go well, as the entire area is covered with a thick ward.

Less than ten minutes later, Scratch had returned to the land of the living.

"We can head out now," is all he said at first while reaching into his jacket to pull out a stubby pencil and notepad. He was busy scratching down some notes and drawing a quick sketch of everything he had seen while it was still fresh on his mind. A single finger in the air every time someone asked him a question was all it took for them to realize that he wanted to make sure he got that information down before he lost any of it.

Two full pages of doddling later, and he finally slowed down enough to talk. "Young's story looks like it checked out," he began, his pencil still making its little itchy sounds against the pad. "Those barghest's were definitely infested with some kind of bug but I didn't get close enough to see what type. I did look around for a few alternative entrances, and I think I found a good way to get past that outer wall and stuff that'll leave us only having to worry about a lone demon rat. Of course it's infested with a pretty fraggin' strong roach spirit, but it shouldn't be too hard to get around if we're smart. Getting into the facility proper is going to be a little difficult, especially for that fox chick and myself, but I'm sure we can come up with something if we can put our heads together.."

It seemed as if he were saving more intimate details for when everyone hooked back up at Shadow's doss later.

Upon hearing Scratch's report, Father begins to curse for a moment in Japanese but composes himself and nods. "An Infested Demon Rat, huh? You thinking a sewer assault? I should be able to include a sewer map for the area around the complex as a part of my search if that's where you're heading."

Scratch pauses from his notes to give Father a quick glance before returning back to it. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking. It goes right under the wall, so if we enter a few blocks back we should be able to get past the outer security null sheen. There may be a few more rats down there, but I don't think they'll be a problem. My only concern is that their summoner might get a vibe of what's going on if we just slaughter 'em, so finding a way to either distract them long enough for us to slip through or otherwise incapacitating them without killing them would be the way to go.

"But yeah, that's something we can focus on back at the crib. After the big G drops you off, I'm going to swing by to visit a chick I know to try and get some maps of this place myself. Together, we'll probably be able to piece together a pretty good composite of what we're going to be seeing."

Grendel backs the Bison from its hull down position and turns towards the address supplied by Father.

Father nods, "Sounds like a plan. That's the place, Grendel," Father says as they approach his "office." Pulling to a stop next to an apartment building just outside the barrens, Father says goodnight and thanks to the others in the vehicle and steps out in the stale night air.

Walking across the street and entering the building, he gives a final wave towards Grendel and the others, and heads upstairs. Passing the first floor rooms, he can already hear the orkish couple in Apartment A fighting again. Sighing as he moves by their door, he heads up stairs. Coming to a stop before his door, he pulls a small datacable out of his pocket and inserts it into his jack. Looking around for a moment, he puts the other end into a concealed jack underneat his doorknob. Giving a silent command, Father disengages his room security and then disengages the cord from his 'jack and steps inside.

Inside it's spartan. There's a comfortable chair where Father decks from and some dry-erase boards for jotting down notes or leads. Putting his case down on a small couch next to the door, Father goes to the fridge and pulls out some cheese and grabs a few crackers. Having a quick snack and drinking some soy-cafe, he takes a deep breath and then sets up his deck on the small table next to his chair. Jacking in, he relinquishes his hold on the real world and prepares himself to go to work.

Grendel pulls away from Father's apartment building.

"All right, Eight, where does this chick live that you want to see?"

It took Scratch a moment to realize Grendel was talking to him, during which time he was still performing his namesake on the notepad. When it dawned on him, he took a peek at his watch and replied with an address in the heart of Downtown. "But if Shadow's doss is closer, just drop me off there and I'll take my ride. Probably be better that way since I have no idea how long it'll take me."

"It's not like I mind the drive. We'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks for the lift," Scratch said as he hopped out after they got to the corner of 4th Avenune North and Denny Way. "I'll catch you guys back at the pad in an hour or two."

As the Bison rolled off into the night, he turned and strutted over towards a nearby payphone in front of a smoky jazz club. The subdued neon lights advertising the joint filled the air with a sleazy ambiance that the satyr was totally grooving to. He lit up one of his Red Apples before picking up the handset and giving Nina a call.

It didn't take much schmoozing to convince her to sneak him into her place of work. Since the Hall of Records was only a few blocks away, he decided to hoof it and a half-an-hour and 250¥ later, he was waltzing out with a couple of blueprints tucked under his arm. Another quick phonecall had one of Karl's Krazy Kombat Kab Kompany's taxis pulling up to drive him out to the same parking garage he left the Ford at.

A few minutes before midnight found him rap-rap-rapping on the safehouse's chamber door.

Onna turns slightly from her work of warding to make eye contact with Ayu. "Could you open the door please?" As she speaks the fox near her feet slips from view. A second passes before she speaks again. "It is Scratch."

Grendel parks the Bison curbside down the block from the safehouse. Overhead, his drone has already resumed its surveillance orbit. Ejecting an OMC from the central computer station, he hands it to Shadow.

"This has all of the surveillance video on it. I'll hold the fort out here, just keep the comms open and I'll cut in when necessary. My recommendation for hard in/hard out still stands, but if Scratch can convince the entry team to try the sewers I'll back that plan as well. If possible, I'd like Warpath to stay on the outside during the intrusion. He's the only one who's rogered up with the necessary skills to land precision firepower. If the run goes south, and we're forced to extract under fire, he's the one I want with the designator while I put ordinance on target. Otherwise, no further recommendations at this time."

The rigger pops the top on another can of 3LIT3 RUSH soda and returns to the command couch, display screens flickering through surveillance inputs.

:: The warding is a long and tedious process and when it's finally finished, Silk excuses herself for a refreshing shower and a change of clothes. ::

:: Taking a seat on the couch, she smiles to the group as everyone coalesces together once more. ::

"Ok... what did you guys find out there? Is this thing going to be as difficult as some of you have led me to believe?"

Ayu slides to his feet as the rest of the group starts to come together again, taking a brief moment to stretch and re-holstering the weapons. He continues leaning near the door, however, and listens up for the debrief on the initial recon.

"I'll let the surveilence video, and Scratch, speak for itself." Shadow pops the disk in the player and drops on the couch next to Silk.

"Anyone want popcorn?" He says with a grin.

Warpath watches through the polarized glass of the windows for signs of trouble, but spots none as the group returns. He holds a large battle rifle in both hands casually as everyone files back in and doesn't move to put it down until the door is secured again.

There is a solid click as the cyberneticly controlled saftey clicks back into position and he takes a seat, weapon resting across his knees. "So, what's it look like?"

Waltzing through the door, Scratch gives a nod of greeting to everyone and a bit of a friendly sneer at Silk before plopping down in a seat by the table. He rolls out one of the blueprints he brought with them and uses an empty beer bottle and a few other nearby knick-knacks to hold it in place. The plans show the detailed utilities and sewer structure for the entire facility and surrounding area.

"In a nutshell, the bit about bug-infested beasts is definitely true -- I saw at least one roach-infected devil rat and three similarly bugged-out barghests -- and there's an assload of wards we're," he gestures at Onna and himself "in particular going to have trouble with. Things aren't going to be pretty, but I think it's definitely doable if we keep our wits about us and don't do anything stupid."

He looks around and sees that Father is nowhere to be seen. "Hmm. Well, as soon as our resident geek gets back, we can get into the details and plan out how we're gonna go about this. Sound good?"

Arriving via taxi at the safehouse at 12:45am, Father announces himself over the team's communications, "Five coming home. Be there in a few."

Arriving, he pays the taxi and then gives a subtle nod in the direction of grendel's van. He enters the safehouse and again, over the the comms, "Five here. At the door now."

Entering the room carrying a large document case and a small box and seeing the team already assembled, he looks around and sighs, "Didn't get as much as I hoped to, but I did get some stuff that should help us out." Seeing the plans for the sewers around the facility he comments, "Good. I see we have sewer plans already."

Opening the document case, Father pulls a printout of the sewer layout for the surrounding five blocks of the facility, "This is the sewer layout around the facility. I have it chipped, too, for those of us with the right ware to read them, but in deference for our awakened team members, here's to all night print shops. We should be able to cross reference this information with the other layout and have a pretty good idea of what we may face down in the nasty and the smelly."

"I wasn't able to get any information on the actual building other than what we already have from Draco. Ares has a tight lid on what ever they're doing there. I did, however, find an unsecured memo that discusses a large underground cavern created underneath the security control room. A copy of that memo is on the chip, and here's a printout of it as well."

"The last thing that's on the chips and in hardcopy is a lot of information gleaned off of a few data havens on bugs. Everything from the history of them to how to fight them to how the different kinds act and react to different threats. We seemed to have a pretty good idea on what we needed to do, but I figured that we could use all the information that we could get."

Warpath gives a sardonic grin. "So, are we still up for a suicidal charge on the front gate or does someone have an idea for a plan that is, you know, good? Barghests in the best of times don't rank on my Fun-O-Meter™ and I don't think adding a bug to them is going to make them any better."

At the mention of an underground facility, he frowns even more. This wasn't going to be easy.

:: Silk smiles at Warpath. ::

"I don't think we're headed for the front gates. By the looks of things, it seems the recon team has decided on an underground attack. If there's also an underground cavern, it looks like that is the most likely target anyway."

"Onna, Scratch made a good point about the wards, but given your unique nature, have you learned much about moving through wards or even destroying them outright?"

“We did? Did I miss a meeting? As far as I know we just went and looked at the place. As to how we go in, and when, well that is still to be decide. So let’s take a look and see what we can make of all this.”

"Groovy." His attention then turns to Silk before he begins.

"Hey doll, while us 'men folk discuss the details,' why don't you make yourself useful and get me a beer? Thanks." The satyr gives her a light smack on the ass to help get her started before reaching into his jacket to retrieve his notepad.

"I can most times pass through wards. I will have to see how strong this one is. If I am needed I can destroy it but that would alert the maker of it." Onna's face clouds over in confusion as Scatch slaps Silk's ass.

Scratch is flipping through his notes when he replies to Onna. "It's going to be tough. I was just able to get through the lesser one (Force 10) around the perimeter, but the one for the facility itself is a doosy (Force 12). So both you and I are going to either have to take it on full force or find some way to get around it. Well, technically, we could get through it without breaking a sweat since its just an alarm ward, but it'll let their resident mojo-flingers know we're there."

Finally finding the right pages, Scratch begins. "All right, here's the run down..."

With that, Ol' Scratch begins laying out an unbelievably accurate protrayal of everything he saw and encountered, using hand gestures and the blueprints to emphasize his points when necessary.

In a nutshell, he reveals that the facility is using at least Force 6 Insect Spirits to infest these poor animals. The only one he could identify on site was the roach-infected devil rat, but he could see the tell-tale signs of infestation in the Barghests as well. The facility itself has a Background Count of 2 while the surrounding area past the gate, including the parking lot, had a Count of 1. Neither seemed to be aligned as a Powersite towards any particular of magic -- at least none that he's ever seen before.

When he's finished, he's convinced that the best way to get in is through the sewer systems since it can get the team past the heavy fortification of the outer wall. He wasn't able to make a detailed sweep of it since he feared alerting the one security critter (the devil rat) there of his presence. Taking something like that out will be pretty easy, but he also seems to have some trepedation about doing so as he believes that doing so may alert the insect shaman they used to infect these creatures (if any) of the loss, thus alerting more security to the area.

"So, we'll definitely need to come up with some way to immobilize these critters instead of killing them outright. Stun weaponry and all the classic techniques should work just fine in that regard, and I'm sure we can cook something up to take out a mass of them if there's more. And usually, where there's one demon rat, there's quite a pawns under its control nearby.

"The biggest obstacle for Onna and me is going to be that alarm ward undetected. The sewers leading into the facility proper are tiny, though, and there's no way we could fit through. At least no unless one of you can turn all of us into a bunch of mice or something..."

"But yeah, the longer we can hold off alerting security, the longer it'll take them to unleash the big boys to take us down."

:: Silk seems to take the comment and smack with nothing more than a slight widening of the eyes and a slow turn to stare directly at Scratch. Stepping around to face him head on, she crosses her arms. ::

"Would you care to explain exactly what your problem with me is, because if you can't get over yourself long enough to at least pretend to be a professional then I don't think you're quite fit to continue as a member of this group."

Scratch simply lifts a brow. "You're the one with the attitude problem, toots. I'm not the one who stomped off in a huff earlier tonight to 'leave things to the boys.' That's 'professionalism' at its finest, neh? Just figured I'd respect your wishes and treat you the way you're acting.

"But hey, if I'm not welcome, feel free to say the word and its splitsville for me. But you're going to be the one to pay back Young's preliminary fee, not me."

Though he doesn't say anything, Warpath watches the exchange intently. He hadn't seen much from either to show them a better team member than the other, and it was better for these things to be resolved before the bullets started flying. So long as the resolution didn't include those bullets.

Feeling decidedly uncomfortable with the brewing argument, Shadow slips quietly back. He moves off the couch and stand behind Ona, with his back to the wall.

Grendel, he says on their private line. We may have a problem.

"Scratch, Silk stand down. Nothing will get served here by you two arguing, or either one of you leaving. Both of you need to burry your hormones and deal with the job at hand. Soka?"

"I'm cool and ready to get to work when everyone else is."

:: Silk bows her head slightly as she composes herself, then turns to look at Shadow calmly. ::

"I disagree. It's quite obvious that Scratch has a problem with me, and has from the beginning. Before I put my life in his hands, I feel it's important to resolve the conflicts at hand."

:: Turning back to Scratch, she pauses to organize her thoughts before continuing. ::

"My comment was nothing more than an excuse to go speak with Onna regarding the very awkward position you forced her into, with a hint of sarcasm at the way you treat the woman in your presence. Since you have joined this present company, your attitude towards the females in your presence is barbaric and totally 21st century.

"Whatever issues you have, you need to bury them and present yourself with a modicum of maturity. Onna and myself are capable professionals who are able to fend for ourselves and understand our own weaknesses and strengths. It is quite obvious your superiority complex is at the core of the current issues."

"You know, your words would have a lot more bearing if you weren't a blatant liar let alone a conspiring witch who only proves at every turn why she shouldn't be trusted.

"At least Onna had the respect not to lie to everyone's face, unlike a certain 'mage' in our present company, and especially not over something trivial. I simply had a little talk with her in private, trying to convince her to be more forthcoming lest we found out her secret at a bad time. You know, like the in middle of a fight with a bunch of bug-infested beasts or something.

"But that aside, tell me... what did you do with all that trash you collected on the table back at the restaurant again? What? Were you just living out some childhood dream of being a busboy, or were you planning -- or have you already? -- on stealing secrets about each of us for whatever purpose you had in mind? 'Cause all the signs are just 'blazing' across your aura in plain view, almost as if some other-worldly idol were 'bringing' the truth to light in a magnificent show of 'fire'works.

"So until you're ready to stop throwing lies around left and right -- not to mention apologize for conspiring to peer into our private lives -- why don't you just get out of my face, sit down, and shut up so we can get to work. And while you're at it, try and cram all of that empty smoke you just blew out of your arse regarding your trepidation about 'putting your life in my hands' right back where it came from. If there's anyone here who's proven they're untrusthworthy, it's you."[CODE]

"Do not do this for my sake. I was not hurt by his actions, only confused. We have all come to this place with secrets and we all are trying to see if we can trust the other." Onna moves forward slightly to be better heard and seen. "No one here has told everything about them and will not. We are what we are. We must not get lost in that. Let each other be and focus on the work at hand."

"I don't have any problems with secrets. Just not gonna sit idly by while some little..." he pauses to comb back his hair as he tries to relax a bit in his seat "...someone who'd rather lie and spy on us puts my integrity in question. It's as simple as that."

A bit of a snort issues forth from his nostrils as he frumps in his seat, trying his best to let the steam out.

"So I hear. What do you propose to do about it?"

:: Silk laughs bitterly. ::

"Really....you need to grow up. We are hired criminals. Deception is not only a way of life in this line of work, it's a necessity. Everyone has secrets, but you don't see anyone else here whining about it. I have not lied to you once. I have not held back anything vital to the task at hand, nor would I. My reputation is impeccible and I have never crossed a teammate or Johnson in my entire career so you need to BACK OFF now. Unless of course you can produce evidence to the contrary, I think it's time you get off your high horse. "

Scratch sighs, then holds up a single finger to signal that she should wait a moment. He then proceeds to fumble around in his jacket pocket only to pull out a tiny water bottle. In a deliberate action he holds it up, aims, and... stops just short of pushing the top to spritz a fine mist at the witch. "Hmm, something tells me this slitch just wouldn't get the joke." With a furrowed brow, he slips the bottle back into his jacket. Leaning forward, he uses the ambient light and shadows as well as every other little trick he's picked up in the last twenty years to make sure his next message gets across with crystal clear clarity.

"Look, you're not worth the effort. When it comes down to it, you basically have three choices. Sit down, shut up, get over it, and work with the team. Sit down, shut up, and stew in your personal hatred of me while you work with the team. Or get the frag out so the rest of us can do our job. If you so much as even think about bringing my integrity into question again, I promise you what little chivalry I still have in me is going to fly right out that window. Savvy?" There's not even a hint of a pause as he continues. "Good."

At that the satyr grabs a leg of his chair with one of his hooves and scoots it towards the table proper, completely dismissing Silk. His full attention turns back to the blueprints. "So," he begins anew, "any suggestions on how we can go about this?"

Clearing his throat in the somewhat stunned silence, Father leans forward over the plans that he and Scratch had brought to the planning session. Shuffling the papers around for a few moments to be sure everyone had time to take a deep breath he starts in, "As we were saying before, Scratch and I had commented on the possibility of a sewer entry, however I don't think either of us were set on the idea. In fact, depending on the state of the sewers, which Scratch could fill us in on, the ... how shall I say it ... moisture level could be interesting for some of the more sensitive electronic equipment that I'll be bringing along with me on this little adventure. However, if the external fortifications are as formidable as he says they are, it might be better to face a little sludge and a bug-ridden demon rat rather than a bunch of buggy-barghests and the others as well."

:: Silk breathes in sharply and with a thought her bag lifts to her hand and she turns on a heel and walks out of the apartment. ::

Shadow moves quickly to intercept the mage before she get's to the door.

Grendel I need you onsite ASAP please.

"Hold it Silk, wait one. Listen up, the both of you. I don't know where the hell this came from, but we have a job to do. A job we all have to do, or all of our reps take a hit. Now we can probably do this without either of you or one of you. But our odds of coming back alive are a lot greater with the two of you on board. So two things are going to happen. Scratch is going to stand up, apologize and take it like a man. Silk, your going to accept his apology, offer one of your own, smile and sit down. And for the rest of the time you two are in my presence your going to act like professionals, not children."

:: Silk's eyes blaze with fear and fury and she spits out a single order. ::

"Get out of my way."

Scratch looked up just in time to see Silk's impersonation of the PMS Avenger in full swing, then lowers his attention back to the blueprints after taking the last swig of drink.

Shadow looks at Silk and whispers quietly, "I really don't want to see you go. I think you could be a great asset to the team. Please reconsider."

:: She shakes her head and shows just a bit of her hurt. ::

"Im sorry....I just can't work with that...that level of unprofessionalism. Good Luck."

:: With that, she slips out the door and heads towards the stairs down to her car. ::

"Do you still want me on-site? Because I think I can handle the problem from here."

"Negative, handle it."

Shadow let's the echo of the door slamming fade away. He let his gaze sweep across the room.

"Anyone else want out? 'Cause if you can't work with a team, and put your lives on the line with a team, you really should leave. I don't want anymore of this crap. If Silk chooses to return, an she may, I want this OP to run smoothly. Leave your personal problems in your personal life. Soka? Let's take a few minute break before we continue."

"Roger."

Shifting the team's primary comms to the back-up frequency, Grendel keeps Silk and Shadow online.

"Are you set on leaving, Four? Because there are other ways to handle this situation."